Rescue workers in Cameroon say there are no signs of any survivors from the Kenya Airways plane that crashed and was found in a mangrove swamp.

They say they could see many bodies partly buried in the mud of the swamp. The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 114 people from at least 23 countries.

The plane came down shortly after taking off in heavy rain from Douala en route to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The wreckage was found some 36 hours after vanishing from radar screens.

A Cameroonian official in charge of the recovery effort at the scene, some 20km south-west of Douala, said he had surveyed the entire site and no one had survived.

"There are no chances of finding any (survivors) under the circumstances," Luc Ndjodo said. "There is a crater filled with water and a clearing, then buried in the mud there are scattered plane parts and debris," he told AP news agency.

International aid

A team from the US National Transportation Safety Board is due to arrive at the scene, with French and US investigators already conducting aerial searches, US embassy officials said.

They will also assist with forensics and the recovery of bodies.

The International Red Cross is leading the search and recovery mission, alongside the Cameroonian government and military paramedics.

On Monday, investigators battled through dense mangrove swamps to reach the wreckage, after parts of the jet were discovered late on Sunday.

Locals made the grim find 20km (12 miles) south-east of Douala.

"I saw one body and one arm. We also saw some seats and a piece of plane about the size of a car door," Guiffo Gande told reporters in Mbanga Pongo village.

Cameroon's government is yet to make a statement on the disaster.

The minister for interior affairs is meeting Kenya's transport and communication minister, Kenya Airways officials and Kenyan government aviation investigators.

Good record

Flight KQ 507 left Douala at 0005 on Saturday (2305 GMT Friday) and was due to arrive in Kenya at 0615 (0315 GMT).